Automatic transmission for a vehicle

ABSTRACT

An automatic transmission for vehicles or the like comprising an input shaft having gears at each end and a front end plate assembly thereon. A high gear clutch drum assembly engages the front end plate assembly. The clutch drum assembly includes a clutch for providing only a low and high forward speed and is in hydraulic fluid communication with a hydraulic fluid delivery sleeve on the end plate assembly. A planetary gear assembly engages the gears on one end of the shaft and includes planetary gears for engaging gears on the clutch drum assembly. A housing encloses the shaft and all assemblies in a substantially fluidtight relationship with the gears on the free end of the shaft adapted to be coupled to the clutch of the vehicle and a rear end plate assembly including the planetary gear assembly being coupled in driving relationship to the differential of the vehicle. In this manner, the transmission can be moved quickly through gears as required for competition racing when hydraulic fluid is selectively supplied to the clutch drum assembly.

United States Patent J orgenson 51 Sept. 5, 1972 [54] AUTOMATICTRANSMISSION FOR A VEHICLE [22] Filed: Sept. 8, 1970 [21] Appl. No.:70,314

[52] US. Cl. ..74/754, 74/761 [51] Int. Cl. ..Fl6h 3/44 [58] Field ofSearch ..74/754, 761

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,907,232 10/1959 Dutfy..74/754 3,233,478 2/ 1966 General et al. ..74/761 3,605,507 9/1971Ishihara ..74/761 Primary Examiner-C. J. Husar Att0mey-Mellin, Moore &Weissenberger 'llll [571 ABSTRACT An automatic transmission for vehiclesor the like comprising an input shaft having gears at each end and afront end plate assembly thereon. A high gear clutch drum assemblyengages the front end plate assembly. The clutch drum assembly includesa clutch for providing only a low and high forward speed and is inhydraulic fluid communication with a hydraulic fluid delivery sleeve onthe end plate assembly. A planetary gear assembly engages the gears onone end of the shaft and includes planetary gears for engaging gears onthe clutch drum assembly. A housing encloses the shaft and allassemblies in a substantially fluid-tight relationship with the gears onthe free end of the shaft adapted to be coupled to the clutch of thevehicle and a rear end plate assembly including the planetary gearassembly being coupled in driving relationship to the differential ofthe vehicle. In this manner, the transmission can be moved quicklythrough gears as required for competition racing when hydraulic fluid isselectively supplied to the clutch drum assembly.

9 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures mlw P'A'TENTEDSEP we 3.688502 SHEE' Z [If 3FlG lb I INVENTOR.

LEROY D. JORGENSON BY W )JMMJ/ D Z/ ATTORNEYS AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION FORA VEHICLE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention Theinvention relates to automatic transmission; and more particularly, toautomatic transmissions for vehicles used in racing, such as dragstripracers.

2. Description of the Prior Art It is well know in the racing art thatvehicles used therein such as dragstrip racers must be equipped withtransmissions that permit such vehicles to accelerate at a very rapidpace and stand up under the heavy pressures due to competition racing.However, known transmissions have proven inadequate in the past sincethey can fail and wear rapidly under the severe conditions encounteredin dragstrip racing, for example. Further, generally such transmissionsare modifications of conventional automatic transmissions and notnecessarily designed specifically for the use to which they are beingput, namely, competition racing, for example. Thus, such transmissionsrequire constant maintenance and replacement of broken parts in order tokeep them running efficiently. Such costs generally prove prohibitive inthe long run and there is much need in the racing field, including forexample, boat racing, auto racing and the like, for an automatictransmission that can both stand up under the heavy stresses due toracing and provide the quick acceleration necessary for such racing.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of this invention to provide animproved automatic transmission for competition racing.

It is a further object of this invention to provide an automatictransmission which can quickly accelerate from low gear to high gear.

It is a still further object of this invention to provide an automatictransmission having quick acceleration and relatively few moving parts.

These and other objects are preferably accomplished by providing atransmission having an input shaft with gears at each end and a frontend plate assembly thereon. A high gear clutch drum assembly includes aclutch for providing only a low and high forward speed and is inhydraulic fluid communication with a hydraulic fluid delivery sleeve onthe front end plate assembly. Aplanetary gear assembly engages the gearson one end of the shaft and includes planetary gears for engaging gearson the clutch drum assembly. A housing encloses the shaft and allassemblies in a substantially fluid-tight relationship with the gears onthe free end of the shaft adapted to be coupled to the clutch of thevehicle and a rear plate assembly including the planetary gear assemblybeing coupled in driving relationship to the difl'erential of thevehicle. In this manner, the transmission can be moved quickly throughgears as required for competition racing when hydraulic fluid isselectively supplied to the clutch drum assembly.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 (1a and 1b) is an explodedperspective view of a preferred automatic transmission in accordancewith the teachings of my invention;

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of a portion of the transmission of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an end view of a portion of the transmission of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 4 is a vertical perspective view of a completed transmission inaccordance with the teachings of my invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to FIG. 1 of thedrawing, an automatic transmission assembly 10 is shown adapted to beconnected to the motor of a suitable vehicle, such as an automobile, aboat, or the like. However, because of the peculiar nature of mytransmission as will be discussed further hereinbelow, my invention isparticularly adapted to vehicles used in competition racing, as forexample, dragstrip racers or the like.

Input Shaft Assembly Thus, transmission assembly 10 includes anelongated input shaft 11 having gearing means, such as splines 12 and 13at each end. Splines 12 are adapted to engage mating splines (not shown)on the conventional input shaft of the transmission (also not shown) ofthe engine of the vehicle into which it is desired to install assembly10. Splines 13 are adapted to engage the sun gear of a planetary gearingsystem as will be discussed further hereinbelow. A third set of splines14 or the like are disposed on shaft 1 1 between splines 12 and 13 andare adapted to engage the conventional frictional clutches of a clutchdrum assembly as will be discussed shortly.

A bearing 15 surrounds shaft 11 between splines 12 and 14. Bearing 15 ismaintained in position on shaft 1 1 by means of one or more snap rings(for example, snap ring 16 on one side of bearing 15 and a similar snapring (not shown) on the other side), the ball bearings within bearing 15not being visible in the drawing. A hearing retainer ring 17 fits over areduced portion 15a of a bearing 15 which also includes a steppedportion l5b, and includes a plurality of apertures 18 therearound forbolting ring 17 to the clutch housing (not shown) of the vehicle intowhich it is desired to install the transmission of my invention.

Front End Plate Assembly A front end plate assembly 19 slidably fitsonto shaft 1 1 and has an inner cavity 19a into which retainer ring 17sets. Assembly 19 includes a hydraulic fluid delivery sleeve 21 on theface adapted to be adjacent splines 14 when disposed on shaft 11. Sleeve21 includes a conventional roller cam clutch (or over-run type clutch)associated therewith (not shown) for preventing the clutch drum fromrunning in one direction as is well known in the automobile transmissionart and thus further discussion is deemed unnecessary. Assembly 19 willoccupy the space on shaft 11 between splines 14 and bearing 15 when soassembled onto ring 17.

A conventional lubrication inlet 22 is disposed about the outerperiphery 23 of assembly 19 and is in fluid communication with theinterior portion of assembly 19 (not shown). Inlet 22 may include aconventional metered orifice therein (not shown) for introducing arestricted amount of lubricating fluid thereto. A conventional breathervent 24 may also be disposed on periphery 23 also communicating with theinterior of assembly 19. A hydraulic fluid clutch apply line 25 is alsodisposed on periphery 23 communicating with both the interior of thedelivery sleeve 21 of assembly 19 and the atmosphere, as shown (i.e.,prior to assembly).

Valve Assembly The valve assembly 27 will now be described. Such valveassembly 27 preferably includes a valve housing 28 enclosing a suitablevalve such as a conventional electro-magnetic or solenoid-actuated valvetherein (not shown). A valve inlet 29 as preferably associated with thevalve housing 28. Inlet 29 is in the preferred form of a Vee andincludes a threaded assembly 30 as shown adapted to be connected to aconventional hydraulic fluid supply (not shown), such as a pump, forintroducing hydraulic fluid, such as oil, under pressure through inlet29. A hydraulic fluid outlet 30a preferably leads from inlet 29, influid communication therewith and is connected to a lubrication line 31having a threaded assembly 32 adapted to be connected to lubricationinlet 22. A valve outlet 33 is associated with valve housing 28 andincludes a threaded assembly 34 for connection to hydraulic fluid clutchapply line 25. It is to be understood that all connections arefluid-tight and any suitably means to carry this out may be used.

A suitable motor 35 is operatively connected to the valve within housing28 and includes electric contacts, represented by reference numeral 36,which can be connected to a suitable source of electricity, such as anautomobile battery, for supplying power to motor 35, thus activating thevalve within housing 28. In this manner, hydraulic fluid can beselectively supplied to delivery sleeve 21 of assembly 19 as will bediscussed further hereinbelow.

Clutch Drum Assembly The high gear clutch drum assembly 37 will now bedescribed. Clutch drum assembly 37 includes an outer sprag race 38 of aconventional sprag race assembly (not shown) adapted to fit over the oildelivery sleeve 21. A retainer ring 39 is disposed rearwardly of race 38on the face of assembly 37 adapted to abut against end plate assembly 19when the drum assembly 37 is mounted on shaft 11. Ring 39 holds aplurality of conventional multiple clutches inside of assembly 37. Sucha multiple clutch assembly forms no part of this invention and anyconvenient type may be used.

For example, as shown in FIG. 2, the internal clutch assembly of drumassembly 37 is to be understood as having a conventional clutch hub 40having outer splines 41 about its periphery 42 and inner splines 43about its central hole 44. As shown, a plurality of lined multiple discclutch plates 45 and 46, five of each being shown, engage hub 40. Clutchplates 45 are conventional lined drive plates having splines 47 aboutthe periphery of their central hold for engaging splines 41 on hub 40.Clutch plates 46 are conventional driven steel plates, disposed adjacentplates 45, and have splines 48 about their outer periphery only.

Splines 43 enable hub 40 to be joined to shaft 11 through engagementwith splines 14 thereon. A conventional clutch cylinder 101 includes thesprag race 38 at its forward end and race 38 is encircled by an outerportion 102 having splines 103 on its perimeter. Portion 102 alsoincludes an inner cavity 104 for reasons to be discussed shortly.Portion 102 also includes a cylindrical portion 105 preferably having atleast a pair of outer grooves 106 and 107 for receiving a conventionallip seal and snap-ring, respectively, (not shown).

A clutch apply piston 108 includes an inner hole 109 into whichcylindrical portion 105 fits. Piston 108 also includes an outer groove110 for receiving a lip seal therein (not shown). Piston 108 also has aface portion 1 1 1 adapted to abut against the first driven plate 46 onhub 40. A plurality of conventional coiled return springs (not shown)are disposed internally of piston 108 for returning the piston 108 toits initial position after actuation thereof.

In operation, piston 108 is disposed into hub 40 with face 111 engagingthe first plate 46 and hole 109 fitting over the boss 112 of hub 40 withportion 105 of cylinder 101 fitting into hole 109. The variouscomponents are locked in place at one end by the snap ring engaginggroove 107 and at the other end by retainer ring 39 with race 38extending out of the hub assembly. In all of the foregoing, the actualoperation of a multiple clutch assembly fon'ns no part of my inventionand further description of the workings of a conventional clutch wouldappear to be unnecessary. 1

Referring once again to FIG. 1, a plurality of locking holes 49 aredisposed about the outer surface of the clutch drum 50 of the clutchdrum assembly 37. As can be seen in FIG. 3, clutch drum assembly 37includes a sun gear 51 at its end adjacent the planetary gear assembly52 which will now be described. It is noted that sun gear 51 is notvisible in FIG. 2 since its is located within clutch cylinder 101 (thesprag race 38 of the clutch drum assembly 37 of FIG. 3 being visibleexterior of cylinder 101 in FIG. 2).

Planetary Gear Assembly Planetary gear assembly 52 includes a mainplanetary cage portion 53 adapted to extend into the transmission caseassembly 54 and a rear end plate 55. Rear end plate 55 includes aplurality of apertures 56 about its face 57, face 57 being adapted toabut against an outer flange or ring 58 on transmission case assembly54. A breather vent 59 is disposed on the periphery 60 of end plate 55and is in fluid communication with a breather tube 61 extending into theinterior of assembly 52 above main portion 53 as shown.

Apertures 62 are provided in the face 63 of rear end plate 55 forreceiving bolts 64 or the like therethrough for bolting the end plate 55to the conventional differential 64', shown in phantom lines, of avehicle. It is to be understood that the pinion shaft or gear (notshown) of differential 64 is keyed in driving engagement to cage portion53 when so mounted in the conventional manner.

Main portion 53 includes a face portion 65 having a central hole 66 forreceiving shaft 1 1 and sun gear 51 of clutch drum assembly 37. Aplurality of journal pins 67 surround hole 66 and include the planetarygears for rotation therearound. The planetary gearing system includes aconventional sun gear 68 having a central hole with splines thereon forreceiving splines 13 on shaft 11. The gears visible in windows 86 ofcage portion 53 are large diameter gears 69 adapted to engage gear 51 ofthe clutch driven assembly 50, three being preferably provided, withthree smaller diameter gears 69' being disposed between the largediameter gears 69" extending through cage portion 53 and into engagementwith the outer gear teeth of sun gear 68. I

Transmission Case Assembly The transmission case assembly 54 serves as ahousing to seal all of the elements in a substantially fluidtightrelationship, i.e. the portions of my transmission requiring afluid-tight path for the hydraulic fluid. A front flange or ring 70 isprovided similar to ring 58 and has apertures 71 therein aligned withapertures 19b about the outer portion of end assembly 19 (one such holebeing shown in FIG. 1). A locking lever 73 is pivotally attached to theouter wall 74 of transmission case assembly 54 as by connection, througha nut-andbolt arrangement 75 or the like, to a pair of spaced flanges 76fixedly secured to the outer wall 74 of assembly 54. Locking lever 73has a handle portion 77 at one end adapted to be grasped by the operatorof the vehicle. The other end of locking lever 73 terminates in atapered portion 78 fixedly secured to a pin 79, the axis of pin 79 beingnormal to the axis of tapered portion 78 and movable within an opening(not shown) extending through the outer wall 74 of transmission caseassembly 54. Pin 79 includes an abutment member 80 thereon adapted tolimit the downward movement of pin 79. The opening receiving pin 79extends through plate 81 fixed to wall 74 so that the head of pin 79enters the locking holes 49 on the clutch drum 50 of the clutch drumassembly 37. A baffle plate 82 may extend along the bottom inner wall 83of assembly 54 and preferably secured in place by bolt 84. A suitablehole (not shown) may be disposed under plate 82 so that all of thehydraulic fluid may be deflected by plate 82 through the hole and out ofthe transmission case assembly 54.

Transmission Assembly The assembly of the transmission assembly will nowbe described. The input shaft 11 is arranged in bearing so that shaft 11rotates therein as is well known in the art. Bearing retainer ring 17 isplaced onto shaft 11 and against the reduced portion 15a of bearing 15.The front end plate assembly 19 is now assembled on shaft 11 and isbolted to bearing retainer ring 17. The threaded assembly 34 of valveassembly 27 is now secured to the apply line while threaded assembly 32of the lubrication line 31 is secured to the lubrication inlet 22. Theclutch drum assembly 37 is now assembled on shaft 11 with sprag race 38passing onto and over hydraulic fluid delivery sleeve 21 of end plateassembly 19.

The planetary gear assembly 52 is now inserted into the rear of thetransmission case assembly 54 and bolted thereto by means of bolts 85passing through and threaded into aligned apertures 56 and 72. Thesubassembly which includes shaft 11, ring 17, end plate assembly 19, thevalve assembly 17, and the clutch assembly 37 is now inserted into theopposite end of transmission case assembly 54. Sun gear 51 of clutchassembly 37 engages planetary gears 69 while splines 13 on input shaft11 engage the central splined hole of sun gear 68 within the planetarygear assembly 52.

Splines 14 at the same time engage the inner splines 1 12 of clutch hub40. Locking holes 49 are aligned with pin 79 when the various componentsare so assembled within assembly 54. Bolts 87 extend through and arethreaded in aligned apertures 71 and 19b for fastening the variouscomponents together.

The assembled transmission assembly 10 is shown in FIG. 4. As can beseen, the transmission case assembly 54 encloses the various componentsin a fluid-tight arrangement. The splines 12 of shaft 11 enable assembly10 to be connected to the conventional clutch of the motor of a vehiclewhile end plate 55 is shown as attached to the conventional 64 (inphantom lines) of the vehicle motor.

Operation The low-gear operation of applicants transmission will now bedescribed in detail. As shaft 11 (FIG. la) rotates in a clockwisedirection looking in the direction of the overall assembly 11, spline 13engages sun gear 68 (FIG. lbthus turning sun gear 68 also in a clockwisedirection. Spline 14, in turn, also on shaft 11, engages splines 43 ofhub 40 (FIG. 2). Hub 40, in turn, engages clutch plates 45 while plates46 are in fixed rotary engagement with the interior of clutch drum 50,as is well known in the art.

In low gear, no oil pressure is applied to clutch drum assembly 37;thereby, plates 45 do not engage plates 46 which would allow hub 40 andclutch plates 45 to spin with shaft 11. That is, oil pressure wouldsqueeze plates 45 and 46 together to move into high gear, as will beexplained further hereinbelow. As sun gear 68 turns clockwise, itengages the small-diameter gears 69' within the main portion 53 of theplanetary assembly 52. This causes gears 69' to rotate in acounterclockwise direction. As gears 69' rotate counterclockwise, thelarger-diarneter gears 69", which are in mesh with the small-diametergears 69, rotate in a clockwise direction due to this mesh. These lattergears 69" mesh with sun gear 51 on clutch drum assembly 37, which wouldresult in rotation of drum 50 in a counterclockwise direction (save forthe locking action due to the sprag race 38 of a conventional spragclutch assembly (not shown) on clutch drum assembly 37. A conventionalsprag clutch assembly is to be understood as one which enables theclutch drum assembly 37 to turn in one direction but lock it fromrotating in the opposite direction, and is well known in the automotiveart. Thus, planetary gear assembly 52 must rotate in a clockwisedirection (as does shaft 11). For every 1.8 turns of shaft 11, theplanetary gear assembly 52 completes one turn. Of course, therelationship of the turns of shaft 11 to the turns of assembly 52 may bemodified, if desired.

In order to operate assembly 10 in high gear, oil pressure is appliedthrough valve 28 to clutch apply piston 108, which piston 108 squeezesclutch plates 45 to clutch plates 46, allowing plates 46 and clutch drum50 to rotate at the same rate as shaft 11, clutch plates 45 and hub 40.As clutch drum 50 rotates with shaft 11 at the same rate, sun gear 51rotates at the same rate as sun gear 68, thereby permitting the entireplanetary gear assembly 52 to rotate at the same rate as shaft 11 anddrum 50. With sun gears 51 and 68 rotating at the same rate as shaft 11,gears 69' and 69" no longer rotate on their individual axes but rotateas a combined 7 unit within assembly 52. The transmission assembly 10 isthus in high gear at a 1:1 ratio.

The operation of a conventional planetary gearing system which may beused in accordance with applicants invention is described in a manualentitled Automatic Transmission Service Guide, prepared by the LincolnTechnical Institute of Newark, New Jersey, and dated 1964. Section K,entitled Ford Fordamatic Two-Speed Transmission describes the operationof a conventional planetary gear system on pages 22-k and 42-k.

In operation, the shaft 1 1 is rotated by means of the clutch shaft ofthe motor of the vehicle engaging splines 12. At this time, sun gears 68and planetary gears 69 are rotated through the engagement of splines 14with splines 112 (and thus gear 51 with planetary gears 69) and splines13 with sun gear 68. The clutch drum assembly 50 is held stationarythrough the roller cam clutch associated with the oil delivery sleeve21. With the input being the same as the motor speed, the output of thegear ratios is 1.8:] in low gear at all times. That is, the ratio of thespeed of input shaft 1 l to the speed of the pinion gear of thedifferential 64 is 1.8: 1.

When is is desired to move into high gear, electrical power is suppliedto the valve housing 28 and hydraulic fluid enters the hydraulic clutchapply line 25 and passes through the delivery sleeve 21 into the hubassembly within clutch drum assembly 37. This locks clutch hub 40 in astationary position and permits the clutch drum 50 to rotate at enginespeed, i.e., a 1:1 ratio of the speed of shaft 11 to the pinion gear ofthe differential 64'.

Locking lever 73 permits the clutch drum 50 of assembly 37 to be held inlow gear until the engine of the vehicle is started, that is, lever 73is pivoted so that pin 79 engages locking holes 49 on clutch drum 50.Preferably, hydraulic fluid may be supplied through line 31 when thevalve is inactivated and through the metered orifice of inlet 22 forlubricating the internal components of the transmission assembly 10.Vent 24 permits the passage of any entrapped vapors therethrough. Inlike manner, tube 61 permits any entrapped vapors to be vented throughvent 59.

The transmission assembly 10 described hereinabove is an integral unitrequiring no drive shafts, U-joints or couplers to cause failure ormisalignment. The unit may be used with a conventional multi-disc clutchsuch as is found in dragstrip racers. The unit is contained in a housingenclosure (i.e., the transmission case assembly 54) which may be aseamless steel housing, as for example, l-inch steel as required by theRules of the National Hot Rod Association. The unit may be operated bythe self-contained electro-hydraulic system as described and can beshifted either manually, as by flicking a simple toggle switch, orautomatically, as by the use, for example, of an aircraft-type speedindicating device.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a transmission for a vehicle comprising:

an elongated input shaft having first gearing means on one end adaptedto mesh with an input shaft on the transmission of said vehicle, secondgearing means on the opposite end adapted to mesh with a planetaryassembly on said vehicle, and third gearing means intermediate saidfirst and second gearing means;

a front end plate assembly disposed on said shaft between said first andthird gearing means and retained thereon, said plate assembly having ahydraulic fluid delivery sleeve encircling said shaft on the side ofsaid plate assembly adjacent said planetary assembly;

said front end plate assembly further including valve means thereon,said valve means comprising a valve, a hydraulic fluid inlet connectedthereto, and at least one valve outlet leading therefrom, said valveoutlet being in fluid communication with the interior of said deliverysleeve;

a high gear clutch drum assembly having an outer race encircling saiddelivery sleeve and fourth gearing means on said drum assemblyencircling said shaft adjacent said planetary assembly, said clutch drumassembly further including multiple clutch means therein meshing withsaid third gearing means and in fluid communication with said deliverysleeve; v

a planetary gear assembly having planetary gearing means therein meshingwith said fourth gearing means and sun gearing means therein meshingwith said second gearing means on said shaft, said planetary gearassembly having a rear end plate thereon adapted to abut against thedifferential of said vehicle; and

housing means encircling all of said assemblies and said shaft forsealing said shaft and said assemblies in substantially fluid-tightrelationship with said first gearing means extending out of said housingmeans.

2. The transmission of claim '1 wherein said front end plate assemblyincludes a bearing encircling said shaft between said first and thirdgearing means and said bearing is retained thereon by a bearing retainerring encircling said bearing.

3. The transmission of claim 1 wherein said front en plate assemblyincludes a lubrication line connected to both the interior of said frontend plate assembly and said hydraulic fluid inlet.

4. The transmission of claim 1 wherein said multiple clutch meansincludes a'clutch hub meshing with said third gearing means in rotatingrelationship thereto, said hub including said fourth gearing meansthereon.

5. The transmission of claim 1 wherein said clutch drum assemblyincludes a clutch drum enclosing said multiple clutch assembly, saiddrum having locking means on its outer surface adapted to lock the drumin stationary position; and

locking lever means connected to said housing means adapted toselectively engage said locking means to lock said drum in a stationaryposition.

6. The transmission of claim 1 wherein said planetary gearing meansincludes six planetary gears surrounding said sun gear means, three ofsaid planetary gears being larger in diameter than the remaining threeplanetary gears with one large-diameter planetary gear being disposedadjacent a smaller-diameter planetary gear, all of said smaller-diameterplanetary gears being of a length sufficient to mesh with said sungearing means, and said sun gearing means being a single sun geardisposed rearwardly of said planetary gears and centrally thereof andhaving a splined central aperture thereon for receiving said secondgearing means and outer gear teeth for meshing with said smallerdiameter planetary gears.

7. The transmission of claim 1 including a breather municating with boththe atmosphere and the intube connected to said planetary gear assemblyin fluid terior of said housing means. communication with both theatmosphere and said 9. The transmission of claim 1 wherein the ratio ofplanetary and sun gears. the speed of said shaft to the pinion gear ofsaid dif- 8- The transmission of claim 7 includi a bafl'l ferentialchanges from 1.8:] to 1:1 as hydraulic fluid disposed longitudinally ofthe inner bo n f said under pressure is selectively applied to said oildelivery housing means; and sleeve.

at least one aperture disposed below said baffle com-

1. In a transmission for a vehicle comprising: an elongated input shafthaving first gearing means on one end adapted to mesh with an inputshaft on the transmission of said vehicle, second gearing means on theopposite end adapted to mesh with a planetary assembly on said vehicle,and third gearing means intermediate said first and second gearingmeans; a front end plate assembly disposed on said shaft between saidfirst and third gearing means and retained thereon, said plate assemblyhaving a hydraulic fluid delivery sleeve encircling said shaft on theside of said plate assembly adjacent said planetary assembly; said frontend plate assembly further including valve means thereon, said valvemeans comprising a valve, a hydraulic fluid inlet connected thereto, andat least one valve outlet leading therefrom, said valve outlet being influid communication with the interior of said delivery sleeve; a highgear clutch drum assembly having an outer race encircling said deliverysleeve and fourth gearing means on said drum assembly encircling saidshaft adjacent said planetary assembly, said clutch drum assemblyfurther including multiple clutch means therein meshing with said thirdgearing means and in fluid communication with said delivery sleeve; aplanetary gear assembly having planetary gearing means therein meshingwith said fourth gearing means and sun gearing means therein meshingwith said second gearing means on said shaft, said planetary gearassembly having a rear end plate thereon adapted to abut against thedifferential of said vehicle; and housing means encircling all of saidassemblies and said shaft for sealing said shaft and said assemblies insubstantially fluid-tight relationship with said first gearing meansextending out of said housing means.
 2. The transmission of claim 1wherein said front end plate assembly includes a bearing encircling saidshaft between said first and third gearing means and said bearing isretained thereon by a bearing retainer ring encircling said bearing. 3.The transmission of claim 1 wherein said front end plate assemblyincludes a lubrication line connected to both the interior of said frontend plate assembly and said hydraulic fluid inlet.
 4. The transmissionof claim 1 wherein said multiple clutch means includes a clutch hubmeshing with said third gearing means in rotating relationship thereto,said hub including said fourth gearing means thereon.
 5. Thetransmission of claim 1 wherein said clutch drum assembly includes aclutch drum enclosing said multiple clutch assembly, said drum havinglocking means on its outer surface adapted to lock the drum instationary position; and locking lever means connected to said housingmeans adapted to selectively engage said locking means to lock said drumin a stationary position.
 6. The transmission of claim 1 wherein saidplanetary gearing means includes six planetary gears surrounding saidsun gear means, three of said planetary gears being larger in diameterthan the remaining three planetary gears with one large-diameterplanetary gear being disposed adjacent a smaller-diameter planetarygear, all of said smaller-diameter planetary gears being of a lengthsufficient to mesh with said sun gearing means, and said sun gearingmeans being a single sun gear disposed rearwardly of said planetarygears and centrally thereof and having a splined central aperturethereon for receiving said second gearing means and outer gear teeth formeshing with said smaller diameter planetary gears.
 7. The transmissionof claim 1 including a breather tube connected to said planetary gearassembly in fluid communication with both the atmosphere and saidplanetary and sun gears.
 8. The transmission of claim 7 including abaffle disposed longitudinally of the inner bottom wall of said housingmeans; and at least one aperture disposed below said bafflecommunicating with both the atmosphere and the interior of saId housingmeans.
 9. The transmission of claim 1 wherein the ratio of the speed ofsaid shaft to the pinion gear of said differential changes from 1.8:1 to1:1 as hydraulic fluid under pressure is selectively applied to said oildelivery sleeve.